Quite a lot of what I think about when I think about atheism is non-religious morality. This is a piece that bears on the subject,a short chapter from my book. It grew out of an essay on an older blog, and it’s titled simply “Kind Words.” Like so many things, the subject has nothing at all to do with religion, but far too many people think it DOES, and find it impossible to imagine it any other way. It's obvious to me that the minute you take up believing in gods, you become less able to really u … [Read more...]

The story is a month old, so I’m sure you’ve caught the controversy over the mangled-beam cross at the 9/11 memorial site, and the fact that atheists oppose the thing. You’ve probably also caught the blowback, which includes online death threats to atheists by nice Christians. Responding to the subject on Facebook, a commenter named Janice D. blamed atheists for the whole thing: “Yes, the Christians are feeling very threatened in today's political climate [...] Their God IS being kicked out of ev … [Read more...]

[ Part 1 — 2 — 3 — 4 — 5 — 6 – 7 — 8 ] Cowboyin' The early end of the beef industry involves a lot of labor at identifying and altering young bovines from their original, mint-condition wholeness to something more in line with human designs, as they make their first transition from free beasties to hamburger-on-the-hoof. The work can be done in sheer industrial efficiency, with metal chutes and shock prods and unconcerned hourly workers, or it can be done by working cowboys, in tune with … [Read more...]